o_teunico

Mmmmm...I have never liked those type of joints...cannot say why...but yes, they really look very well made items. Some pics of the pipe bending test.

More testing. One small bend with 20cm radius and a bigger one of 16.5cm radius, with one roller in the center of the first bend gives me a nearly perfect match with the Santana grp roof.

Yep, that´s how I want to do it, as seen in those youtube videos. Santana used same window panels as any british built Series/Defender. It´s the roof the one that is different. It has about 4" of plain inclined surface before the "arch" starts.

A pair of pictures...

Today I have found some time for playing with my new toy and have bent my first pipe. Old fence post, 49mm OD and 2mm wall thickness. When I was pumping it looked like it wasn´t at 90 degree, but in fact it was bent a tad above 90 degree. Lesson 1: don´t trust your eyes when calculating angles. Theres was some tube kinking. As expected, die is 51mm and tube OD 49. Lesson 2: tight die/pipe fit is essential. The rollers also have marked the pipe. Lesson 3: use load spreading plates. The bending radius was 150mm, that is, 3 times the pipe´s OD. Perfect for an internal roll cage following roofs line. Santana used a GRP double skin foam filled roof, and that will require a small extra bent 4" below the main bent, where the roof meets the window panel.

I have located various suppliers through the net for the saddles, both as single units and as sets. Now I´m looking at the various ways for makin crosses...

Have found this picture on the net, from challenger4x4. Aparently the saddle is elded to the tubing and that´s all.

18 years ago I build my first (and yet only) ROPS for a Land Rover. The guy at the steel warehouse recomended "DIN gas pipe", 1,5" internal diameter and 3.2mm wall thickness. It was suposed to be equivalent to that 48mm OD blue band mentioned by ARC regulations. In those days I had no welding experience, neither a bender, so, local blacksmith bent it for me. I then tacked it in the 88 and he fully MIG welded it.

For info on design and materials, have a look at http://www.alrc.co.uk/Handbook/2015/regulations/Roll-cage regulations.pdf

I was goimg to use 2" gas pipe, that called blue band. Years ago it was OK for roll cages...

99.90 Eur in eBay. EBERTH branded and sold by Rocket Tools Gmbh.

Hi all, I have been given a pipe bender for my birthday, so I will try to build an internal roll cage for my 88. Yes, we all know that a tube bender will be the proper tool for this work, but I have seen people using pipe benders with quite good results. I will use saddle joints, but, how? Just weld the piece to the end of the bar or weld a piece of solid bar to the "hole"? Weld a cap maybe? I made many years ago a roll bar for an 88, but never a full cage. It will be fully bolted, as roll cages are not legal for street cars. It will be bolted for pay&play weekends and unbolted for daily driving. Any help will be apreciated.

Not that BIG tyres...32" are 7.50 or 235/85, just like any standard 109 or 110. Longer dumd irons and rear leafs at front were already in the agenda. In fact front Transit leafs, same length as rear Land Rover ones but with bigger and more flexible bushes. I really like what Koos "Toyroverlander" and you Chicken Drumstick have done in you Series.

Sadly local scrapyard has sold shafts and hubs. I live nearly 1000km from Mijas :-0

I have arch extensions (not fitted yet) because I was going to fit wider tyres on inverted rims. Local scrapyard is breaking for spares a Disco 2 these days, that's why I started considering this swap. With extra cash you can fit Ashcroft cv kit. CVs become unbreakable because even HD shafts will fail far before cv. I'm planning a 160hp six pot turbodiesel engine swap + 32" and SOA, hence the need for wider and beefer axles.

Santana PS axles are not just bolt on and not that easy to locate, even here in Spain. I was thinking in D2 axles because of slightly wider track and BIG cv kit from Ashcroft. Unfortunatelly I couldn't use my Santana/Disco 1 wheels. I have a broken front halfshaft and some issues with rear drum brakes, perfect excuse for an axle swap!

Hi all, I´m considering an axle swap for my 88¨ Santana. I remember seeing over here a Series with Disco 2 axles, but cannot remember the name of the owner and have not been able to locate the original post. Any help? Thanks in advance!

If you decide to come back, I strongly recommend you to visit Lugo during the "Arde Lucus" ("Burn Lucus"). Four days to remember our kelt and roman origins. Book acomodation some months earlier! Lugo takes it name from the roman god Lugh. Nice place to visit is also the Ancares mountains, natural border between Galicia and León. Las Medulas, ancient roman gold mines, also a good place to visit in the Bierzo region in province of León. www.ardelucus.org

After five days with the meggie I can only say good things about both the car and engine. Engine roars like a happy cat at tickover. 130BHP and 1600kg (as a regular 88" quite more less) gives it better performance than expected. Spanish Opel forum also suggested Omega B2 (2.5 M57 based), but I really love M51. Enough power for me. Parting with an old 88 makes things esasier for making it road legal. The older, the better. And I already have the 88 and no money for a 90.

:rofl: Not that vapour! Opel engine is slightly detuned compared to the BMW units. 130HP is not that much. OK, is more than twice the power of the original engine, but same as a carb 3.5 V8. A "power box" second ECU will raise to 160HP, as EFI 3.5 V8. V8 conversions have been made thousands of times over the years, some even using Rover 4spd boxes. Another advantage of the Opel engine is that it´s half price of a similar RR or BMW unit. 300 Eur. is enough for a breaker sourced engine, and a six months warraty will be included. Opel engine + P38 4HP22 is something that I see affordable for me, both in money and mechanical knowledge. I have decided to take the 88" to the in-laws farm and ask a temporal "written-off" certificate. I will use it as a farm toy and will make the conversion slowly (5 years?). Once completed I will ask engineer´s report and make it road legal. Wider axles and suspension upgrades, torque bars included, were already in the agenda

A high mileage but vvv good condition E39 530d Touring appeared a few miles from home. I could´t visit the owner, and a few days later, when I could, was sold. Poor Corsa died one week ago, so I have bought the first car I have found that suits me. My new daily driver is going to be an Opel Omega (not Caravan as I wanted). 1998, 150.000km, vvv condition and powered by M51 derived Opel X25TD engine. Low end torque is not as low as expected, and it is super smoooooth to drive. Car is at workshop (fitting a tow hitch) and I will take deliver of it next week.

I´m happy to hear that you have enjoyed your trip to both the lands where I was born (Basque Country) and where I live (Galicia).

Hi, 4hp24 from P38 Range Rover to LT230 has been done and is well documented on the net. Question is: does the sam e apply to the hp22 used in M51 powered RR 2.5 DSE?

Thanks for your thoughts. After some serearch ( mainly superturbodiesel.com) I have discovered that the M51 will do easily 170hp, 250 easy, 300 achievable and it's said that one was built in Finland with 400hp. Electronic pump can be swapped for the mechsnical one from M21 engine, and there is even a OM603 pump conversion. All in all, merc engine will do more HP with same effort and will be more reliable.

Hi all, Now, with a baby at home, I'm looking for a bigger daily drive. 3 door Corsa is simply too small... I want a big estate with a good diesel engine, so I could in a future make an engine swap to the 88" and share engine and (automatic) gearbox with it. Today I have phoned to the owner of a W124 MB300 (OM603) in mint condition for a good price. Unfortunatelly vehicle was already sold... Looking now for more candidates...and the Opel/Vauxhall Omega Caravan is the other car that suits me. Uses BMW M51 engine, as does the P38 rangie, making it easier to adapt to the 88 with a 4hp22 from rangie and lt230, and is much lighter than de 606, but it's slso less powerfull and not that reliable (head gasket). Any experience with both this engines so I could make a pro/cons chart and make the decission? Thanks